History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c24.s6.38

v1.c24.s6.38

At Sringaverpur (Allahabad) excavations have exposed a rectangular tank (IAR, 1978-79, p.58) made of bricks measuring 41.5 to 44 × 27.5 to 28.5 × 6 to 7 cm. It is assigned to the beginning of the Christian era. Its measured length is about 100m but its ends have not been determined. The sides are retained by three successive walls of baked bricks with battered back against the natural soil. The tank was fed by the water of the Ganga brought through a channel 2m wide. The mouth of the tank made of baked bricks was shaped like an arc of a circle. The bricks at the base of the channel were set in a stepped fashion so that the base and side walls were not eroded by the gushing water. The floor of the tank near the mouth was paved with unusually large bricks 64 × 12 cm.